Development Status of Shadow Play in Haining

Haining's shadow play has been performed for nearly a thousand years. By 1930s and 1940s, there were more than 20 troupes, more than 300 plays and 120 actors in Haining. With the changes of the times, the living environment of shadow play art has been seriously affected. In 1950s, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture went to Beijing to perform in order to form a troupe. After investigation, there are still skilled old shadow puppeteers in Weihai Ning, Zhejiang Province. But today, the only remaining old artists are over 70 years old, and there is no successor, which has become one of the key traditional folk art projects.

Lang Zhang Ming was born in a "shadow play family", and his grandfather Lang Gigi Lai is the fourth generation descendant of this family. I used to be a drummer in the provincial shadow play troupe. Shadow play has left many colorful memories for Lang Zhangming. When he was a child, he often went to Linhai Temple behind the village with his grandfather to perform shadow play, hiding under the stage for a while and jumping on the stage for a while. Many classic shadow plays are familiar. "When the shadow play was played, the whole village was empty, and everyone was so happy to see it." After going to school, his parents asked Lang Zhangming to concentrate on his studies and gradually get farther and farther away from shadow play.

In 2002, Lang died, and Shen Shengbiao, another senior artist of the provincial shadow play troupe, initiated the establishment of "Haining Jiangnan Shadow Play Art Troupe" to recruit young students. In 2008, Shen Shengbiao visited Langjia, hoping that the young people of Langjia would inherit the shadow play. Lang Zhang Ming's grandmother was very moved. "My son didn't learn, let his grandson learn."

At this time, Lang Zhangming, who is studying in Yangzhou Institute of Technology, also promised: "After finishing my studies, I will go home to learn shadow play." He compared shadow play to "a treasure scattered among the people". "I am too familiar with shadow play, just like my childhood partner. It would be a pity if it were lost in our generation. " The gentle Lang Zhang Ming said.

At the beginning of last year, Lang Zhangming really picked up a stick and began to learn shadow play. In order to learn the essence of traditional shadow play, he visited the old artists who knew shadow play in Haining one by one. Now, Lang Zhangming has learned five plays, such as the pantomime Cockfighting, Turtle Crane, the drama Nalong Palace and Monkey King Thrice Defeats the Skeleton Demon, and the traditional drama Nan Tian Ji. Lang Zhang Ming is still not satisfied. "Some old artists have hundreds of plays in their bellies. Only by studying hard can more babies stay. "

In order to promote shadow play, Lang and three other young people began to perform shadow play in the tidal scenic area, learning while performing, and only rested for four days a month. "On the day when the audience was the largest, we performed more than 40 performances in a row." Speaking of which, Lang Zhangming raised his eyebrows.